New York, May 21, 2026, 10:06 EDT
- Quantum Computing Inc. shares gained in early Nasdaq trade as quantum-computing stocks followed the sector higher following a new U.S. government funding push.
- The company didn’t show up in the list of recipients mentioned in Reuters’ article on the $2 billion U.S. quantum investment package.
- QUBT last traded at $10.73, up roughly 12.2%. Volume was close to 16 million shares.
Quantum Computing Inc. stock moved higher Thursday morning as traders piled into quantum-computing names. The gains came after the U.S. government said it would take equity stakes in multiple companies in the group. QUBT was last at $10.73, up $1.17, or roughly 12.2%, with volume around 16.0 million shares.
Government action injected new interest into a section of the market long steered by excitement over potential more than earnings. Quantum computing, which taps quantum physics to handle problems standard computers can’t, is still early, but Washington’s support put attention on possible winners and those who could miss out.
Nasdaq traded regular hours on Thursday, with its usual session running from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern. Its next market holiday on the schedule is Memorial Day, set for May 25, 2026.
Trump administration to buy $2 billion in equity across nine quantum-computing firms, including a new IBM startup, Reuters reported. The Commerce Department said IBM is set to get $1 billion and will launch a company to manufacture chips for quantum computers. GlobalFoundries is getting $375 million for a U.S. quantum components plant.
QCI didn’t show up in the Reuters story. Companies that did get named included D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing. Both are seen as more closely tied to the government funding news and both jumped more in early trading. Rigetti gained around 21.4% and D-Wave was up about 21.8%. IBM added about 4.9%.
QUBT shares joined the rally, as traders tend to move as a group when something in policy or technology looks like a win for the sector. But the company’s most recent SEC event wasn’t new funding. A Form 8-K from May 18 said QCI gave an investor talk at a conference and put up the slides online.
QCI’s main focus now is its balance sheet and growth from deals. Last week, the company reported first-quarter revenue of about $3.7 million, a jump from $39,000 last year. Most of that came from buying Luminar Semiconductor in February, with the NuCrypt acquisition in March adding less.
Quantum Computing Inc. CEO Yuping Huang said the company saw “significant operational progress” for the quarter. Huang said photonics, which uses light on chips to move or process data, is getting more important due to its low power needs and ability to operate at room temperature. Quantum Computing Inc.
QCI posted a first-quarter net loss of $4.1 million, or 2 cents a share. Operating expenses jumped 139% to $19.8 million from the same quarter last year. The company finished March with roughly $1.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments, and a backlog of about $16 million.
QCI has cash in the bank and time to run, but its $2.4 billion market cap doesn’t give it much space for mistakes. At last trade, the company’s price-to-earnings ratio stayed negative as QCI is still running losses.
Thursday’s gains could slip if investors think the U.S. funding package mainly helps specific recipients over the broader sector. Quantum computers still have big engineering hurdles, with high error rates holding back real-world use. Reuters said estimates for when working machines appear are all over the map.
The shift in policy has moved the tape for now. Matthew Kinsella, chief executive at rival Infleqtion, told Reuters the investment supported the idea that quantum computing was “coming much faster than anybody thinks.” Reuters
